A day after India summoned US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena in New Delhi over Washington's remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the US once again raised the issue, this time along with the allegations of freezing the bank accounts of the Congress party.
When asked about the summoning of the senior diplomat, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes and "we don't think anyone should object to that".
"We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Miller added: "We are also aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. And we encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of these issues."
However, on the summoning of the diplomate, Miller said he was not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations. "But of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that. We'll make the same thing clear privately," Miller said.
It was on Wednesday that the Ministry of External Affairs officials summoned the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Gloria Berbena at its office in South Block in Delhi and lodged a strong protest against a US State Department official's remarks on Kejriwal's arrest. The meeting lasted for more than 30 minutes.
The External Affairs Ministry also released a statement objecting to the remarks of the US State Department spokesperson. "In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in the case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents. India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted," the statement read.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Kejriwal in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy scam'. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.